Thom Sigel- FCA for Coaches

Thom Sigel, the retired basketball coach at Rock Island, has always been one of good guys in coaching. He is intense and highly competitive, but he also showed himself to be a man of principles. Sports are in schools to teach important life lessons to young people. Thom used sports to teach important life values. 

Thom is a religious man. He has been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athlete's Coaching Huddle for over twenty years. I hope to do two blog posts centered on the FCA Coach Huddle. The first part is this post, with Thom describing what the group is, how it has impacted him, and how coaches could get involved. Later, I plan to do a post where 4-5 coaches in the group share how their faith has impacted their coaching. 

Massey- When did the FCA Coaches' Huddle start up? How long have you been attending the FCA Coaches' Huddle?

 

Sigel- I am not actually sure exactly if the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coaches' Huddle started before I was involved, or it was about the same time.  I have been attending since around 2002 or 2003.   

Massey- How did FCA Coaches' Huddle get started?

Sigel- Tim Schneckloth was the Director  of the Illowa FCA and started the coaches huddles on Thursday mornings.  It started out small, with usually only 5-6 attending, and the location moved around a few times.  The state split with Dan Pearson in charge of the Northwest Illinois FCA, and I joined the 3 Rivers FCA segment of his area, I also began helping Dave Anderson organize the continuation of our Coaches Huddle.

Massey- How many are involved and is it all face to face meetings?

Sigel- We have had a small core continue to meet, but we have been able to grow with the use of Zoom.  We meet Thursday mornings 6:30-7:15, but this year we are adding some Sunday evening Zoom meetings and social events to reach out to more coaches.  Some coaches are able to meet with us for breakfast in Milan, but about half use the Zoom link to join in either at home or from work.  We have grown to about 10-15 each week with retired coaches as well as coaches from Geneseo, Rock Island, Erie, Bureau Valley, Sterling Newman, and Pontiac. 

Massey- Is this group open to new members?

Sigel- We continue to reach out to more coaches who wish to be involved.  We would love to have women coaches and those from outside the QC who are interested, reach out to join in.  

Massey- What do the meetings mean to you personally?

Sigel- I know many of us over the years have felt that starting out our Thursday mornings with our meetings is rejuvenating.  Personally, even though it is busy when in-season, those Thursday mornings were even more beneficial. I made sure to get up and be there every week. 

Massey- Our your meetings structured with something like lesson plans?

Sigel- While we find materials to base the meetings on, I think we all appreciate the discussions, stories that we share, and the laughs we have when we get a little off topic.  This year we will spend a few weeks in the new version of the FCA Coaches' Handbook.  I feel like the many resources over the years have helped me stay grounded and grow as a coach and as a Christian.  There have been numerous times I wish I would have been exposed to topics we cover when I was a young coach.

Massey- If a coach is interested, how would they go about getting involved in the group?

Sigel- The easiest way coaches who have an interest in the 3 Rivers FCA Coaches Huddle is to email me at tsigel@fca.org .  I can email them more details and make sure I add them to our email list so they can get the Zoom links and any materials I send out.

Massey- I appreciate Thom sharing information about the FCA Coaches' Huddle. I will be doing a follow-up post where some of the individual coaches will talk about their experiences with the group and about how their faith has impacted their coaching. 

Title IX- Friday Nights

According to reports, Quincy parents are unhappy with QHS’s compliance to Title IX. From what I have seen on social media, their unhappiness centers around the facilities- the lockeroom and the gym. When I first saw this information, my reaction was that it wasn’t my issue, it’s Quincy’s problem. Then someone shared with me that the parents had a longer list of concerns, including the girls not playing on Friday nights. 

Now I was invested in what was going on- Quincy parents could impact the Galesburg basketball program. We feel Galesburg and the Galesburg school district has built up a program which allows our girls basketball players to feel special and celebrated. Thursday nights have been our night, and our community comes out in huge numbers to cheer on our girls. 

It was mentioned that they wanted girl/boy doubleheaders. It really bothered me that maybe some people who have done little, if any research, would dictate to other schools how the programs should be run. 

Coach Biddle- A Big Thank You

Josh Biddle started coaching JH boys basketball at Lombard about 20 years ago. During his career, he has also coached JH track and HS softball. He started coaching JH girls basketball in 2014-5, and coached both girls and boys JH basketball for three years. Then for the next five years he coached both JH girls and HS freshmen girls basketball. So for 8 years, he coached two different basketball teams. He has stepped down this year from his position as 9th grade girls coach. 

Josh is a tremendous teacher. He didn’t just do drills, he used drills as a way to teach. He made the players aware of important details. He was a master of teaching fundamentals.  

Basketball was Josh’s classroom. He always was looking for new ways to teach a skill. On the varsity level, we were using the “Biddle Dribbling Drill,” the “Biddle Shooting Drill,” and other drills that Coach Biddle developed. But not only did he develop drills, he was a master at stopping drills and pointing out the little details that needed to be perfected. 

Evan Massey and The Fever- My Take

The WNBA is about to wrap up their season, and head into the play-offs. It has been an exciting season. Before this season, there were many girls basketball fans (followed their HS teams or college teams), who did not really follow the WNBA. Even the most enthusiastic girls basketball fan probably could not have named more than 3-4 WNBA teams and their nicknames. Today many of these people have taken the WNBA under their personal umbrella of “girls basketball.”

There are many Caitlyn Clark fans, who have now become WNBA fans. And there are some who were more just men’s basketball fans, who have now become WNBA fans. How many new fans “girls basketball” has gotten, I am not sure. But it is obvious there are considerably more eyes and maybe more hearts rooting for WNBA teams, who also will become “girls basketball” fans in general. Here’s hoping the interest in HS girls basketball will see a bounce in both spectators and participation.

Streaks Photos- Alums Giving Back

Molly Watson 

In a successful program, you hope current players have been inspired by past players. Maybe they attended games as young grade school students, and picked out players who they wanted to be like. Successful players can serve as an inspiration and help young girls dream. 

Sara Wood

Too often in the past, young girls did not have as many role models in sports as young boys may have had. That is why it is so important for parents to take their daughters to HS games to help inspire them. 

We have been fortunate that not only has GHS had great players and great role models for the young girls in Galesburg, but we have former players who are willing to come back to share their stories with HS players. 

Costa grads- Antonia, Molly, Julia

These pictures are from several summers ago, of Sara Wood and Molly Watson coming back to talk to the varsity players about their basketball careers and about their lives today. Nothing better than to have players be inspired by young women who were successful as players at GHS, and are successful in life. 

Strategy- 1996 Pressure Basketball

In 1994-5 season, we had a very talented team, and we had not only size but we had talented “bigs.” We started a 6’1” all-state post who was our leading scorer, the other post was 5’10”, and we came off the bench with 5’9” and 5’11” post players. We tried to run but were more than happy to settle to run half-court offense. We pressed some, but often just played half-court man to man. I would describe us as a team who “wanted to run and press,” but we were not “committed to being a running and pressing” team.

Our 1995-6 team did not have size. Our three best players were our 5’3”, 5’4”, and 5’5” guards. They were quick and were great ball handlers, passers, and shooters. Our posts were 5’8” to 5’10.” My belief was that we were not going to be able to go toe to toe with teams in the half-court. We needed to make the game uptempo- run and shoot on offense and press any chance we could get on defense.

Old School Coaches- The Best of Coaching Clinics

I am hoping to do this segment- "Old School Coaches" on a regular basis. I have put together a crew of retired coaches, who were highly successful in their high school coaching career. My hope is to post one question to them every two weeks. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association HOF. 

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

My Question

Attending clinics does not seem as popular with younger coaches today. Maybe it says something about their attitude or something about technology. We "grew up as coaches" in an era when coaching clinics were a big deal. What did you see as the value of clinics? What were the kind of things you hoped to gain at clinics? Who were some of the best speakers you heard?

Strategy- 1987 - Bad Time Out

The 1980's had not been great to the Streaks. We had won no Regional titles. We had winning records in 1980 (21-4), 1981 (14-10), and 1984 (16-10). The previous two seasons, we had gone 9-17 and 8-17. There was a petition drive by "concerned citizens" to fire the boys coach that Spring. Some had wanted to include the girls coach but fortunately in 1986 there just was not that much interest in girls basketball.  

In 1986-7, we matched up vs. Quincy for the Regional Championship at Galesburg. We had split with Quincy during the season- losing at home in December 47-32 and winning at Quincy in late January 48-21. It was our chance to finally get a Regional title. I had developed laryngitis the day of the game. Mike Jaskoski, who was a good friend and on the boys staff volunteered to sit on the bench and help communicate to the players. 

Parents- Don't Be Bob Cousy

After the Olympic men’s and women’s basketball teams were selected and I looked at their rosters, I wondered how in the world would they keep all of those players happy with their playing time. Early I felt like Coach Kerr was trying to keep everyone happy by playing most of the players almost equal minutes. In my view, he was playing too many players. It was effecting performance and I am not sure anyone was happy. 

The worst thing about basketball is that only five players can play at a time. Players have to learn to embrace roles. The best thing about basketball is that only five players can play at a time. Players have to learn to embrace roles and understand the value of sacrifice and unselfishness. Most of our lives, whether it is in our families or our careers, we have to learn to put the good of the group ahead of our selfish interests.

The famous basketball player and coach, Doug Collins captured the essence of fulfilling roles in basketball. His message was-

“Believe in your role.”

“Stay in your role.”

“Star in your role.”

Title IX Concerns in Quincy

As any of you who have played vs. Quincy or gone to games at Quincy, you are aware that Quincy girls basketball plays in a second, smaller gym. Actually the girls play at QHS, and the boys play in a large spectator gym at the grade school. 

A couple years ago, a father went to the school board to express unhappiness that his son played in the main gym with attached perks, and had a first class locker area- while his daughter played in a small gym with few perks. 

The school responded by adding some perks to the small gym but kept the girl in the gym. It appears now that parents upset with what they feel is a second-class treatment of the girls playing basketball at basketball. We will see what happens. 

Plans and Plays- Looking Back At The Best and Worst

I asked readers for some suggestions on things to write about. Eric Doss suggested that I look at some of the X/O’s and strategies that either I used or saw during my 50 years of coaching. I like the idea, and I have already enjoyed reflecting back on possible topics. 

I am planning to call this line of posts- Plans and Plays. I want to look at strategy, practices, and scouting reports (Plans), and then look at last second shots and our best plays (Plays). I hope to do at least one Plans and Plays blog per week. As I look at past Plans and Plays, I hope to look at some that worked and some that did not work. 

I don’t mean to insult you but I want to start out by explaining how to read diagrams that I may put up. I am “old school” when it comes to the rules for diagraming plays.

O’s are always offense, and X’s are always defense. If you switch them around, I am really not interested in what you have to say- I just can’t work thru it. 

Solid line with arrow is a cut. Dotted line with arrow is a pass. Squiggly line is a dribbler. 

When I diagram an offensive play with no defense, I always number the offensive players #1 thru #5. Whoever starts with the ball, their number is circled. 

I realize some today would say basketball should be positionless- for me-

#1= Point Guard

#2- Shooting guard

#3- Small forward

#4- Inside post player, runs the floor on makes

#5- Outside post player- takes the ball out- usually is on the perimeter

My numbering for #4 and #5 are opposite of most but when I started using #’s, I had just put in Paul Westhead’s numbered break and that is how Westhead numbered. 

I hope as I go thru this it will be an exercise where maybe it can be a combination of a clinic and in some cases a trip down memory lane.

Thanks to Eric for the idea!!

Streaks Photos- 1980 The Huddle

This is one of my all-time favorite Streaks pictures. This was my second Streaks girls basketball team. Seated from left to right is Amy Crisman, Teresa Powell, Cookie Rosine, Lesa Moore, and Lyndale Pickrel. To my left is assistant coach, Marv Cochran, and I am in the beautiful plaid sport coat. (I still can’t believe my wife threw it out.)

After I switched from coaching boys basketball to girls basketball, some would ask if it was different. I always tried to have the same expectation when coaching boys and coaching girls. It was easier to get females to buy into the team first attitude- they seemed to have a stronger desire to be part of a team. 

Coaches and Critics

At coaching clinics veteran coaches warn young coaches, “Don’t go into coaching if you want to be liked.” I heard that when I was in my twenties, but I didn't really believe it was true. Most young coaches really don’t believe it. I was sure I would work so hard, have a solid basketball mind, and would relate to players. How could I not be a well-like and popular coach?

I was very fortunate that when I first started in girls basketball I had two things going for me. One, there was little community interest in girls basketball so I could make mistakes, grow, and not be under a microscope. And two, I had administrators who had confidence in me. My AD chose to shelter me from critics. 

High Schools- Should They Add More Sports?

“It’s not fair, my daughter wants to play lacrosse. Why can’t our school add girls lacrosse as a sport?”

This seems to a phrase that AD’s in Illinois, and probably throughout the nation are hearing from parents. You can take out “girls lacrosse,” and replace it with boys lacrosse, boys volleyball, girls flag football, badminton, gymnastics, and many more. I am sure after the Olympics there will be a push for biking, team handball, and many other sports. In Illinois, the “growing sports” seem to be boys volleyball, boys/girls lacrosse, and girls flag football.

Streaks Scrapbook- Boys 1955 Elite Eight

Coach Frank Adams

Boys- 1955-     Elite 8     18-12    (State Rank-Unranked)

This is the first team in my “scrapbook.” My intent is to include all boys teams (staring with 1955) and all girls teams who made it to the “Sweet Sixteen.” In basketball “going to State” is considered making it to the Sweet Sixteen. The rationale was that originally 16 teams advanced to State. 

In 1955 Galesburg made it to the Elite 8, where they lost an overtime game to Elgin. Elgin went onto take 2nd in State, losing to Rockford West in the Championship Game. 

Galesburg started two seniors- Carroll Fay (5'10" Guard) and Gene Youngquist (6'4" Post). The three juniors in the starting lineup were Mike Owens (6'1" Guard), Russ Lind (6'1" Guard), and Bill Graning (6'5" Post). 

Graning and Youngquist were typically the leading scorers but both Owens and Lind had nights they were the high scorers. The combination of Owens, Lind, and Fay gave the Streaks tough, quick defense. 

Frank Adams came to Galesburg after coaching in Nebraska. This was Adams one, and only year at Galesburg. After the season was over, he went to coach at Knox College and John Thiel (his assistant) became the head coach. 

The Streaks were still playing games at Steele Gym, located at the corner of Broad St. and Simmons St. This was the last year that the Illinois High School Association took 16 teams to play at Huff Gym. The Sweet Sixteen games (now Super-Sectionals) were played on Wednesday, and then the Elite 8 on Friday.

Owens, Graning, and Lind became the nucleus of the 1956 team that advanced to the Super-Sectional before losing to Rockford West in double OT. 

Adams coached five years at Knox but had enough success that he was recognized as the "Knox coach of the first 100 years." Bill Graning followed him to Knox, where he graduated as the all-time leading scorer. Russ Lind played at U. of Colorado where he earned all Big 12 honors. Mike Owens played at Bradley on a team ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. 

Tom Wilson- Article on Frank Adams

Massey Blog- Steele Gym